A Fishy Story
by Strausser
Summary: Happy Birthday Aphrodite! YAOI. DeathmaskAphrodite, implied MC and ShionDohko. Dite's birthday party does not go according to plan, but that's okay because it's his party and he can kiss who he wants to. Second Chances Timeline.


**Title:** A Fishy Story

**Author:** Strausser

**Pairings:** Deathmask/Aphrodite, implied Milo/Camus, implied Shion/Dohko

**Warnings:** allusions to sex, sex talk, kissing, cussing

**Spoilers: **Hades arc

**Timeline: **_Second Chances_

**Disclaimer:** Saint Seiya is owned by Kurumada Masami-sensei. I just use them to satisfy my twisted desires.

Great delicious smells rose from the inside of the Pisces temple to engulf the air like a fire. Drawn in by those smells, Aphrodite hurried his steps down from the Kyokou's temple, where he had spent the entire morning into afternoon pampering himself in the Kyokou's private spa. Every time the star sign changed during the year, Kyokou Shion would allow that Saint use of his private facilities in the up most temple. Since Aphrodite's birthday was today, this was now his time, and he was not about to let a day go by without taking advantage. But this day was unlike all the other days, for on this day, he was to have his birthday celebration.

Stepping inside his temple, he could hear the off-key humming of Sanctuary's resident chef, Deathmask, as well as the sizzling of whatever wonderful dishes were being created. Aphrodite crept into his quarters, then into the kitchen, being careful not to make a sound lest his friend become aware of his presence. He felt proud that the other man never caught him, and rewarded himself by pinching a butt cheek.

Deathmask jumped and flipped around. "Ah! Dite, you scared me!"

Aphrodite lowered his lids and pouted his lips. "What? You're scared of widdle ole me? You should be ashamed to call yourself a Gold Saint. I wouldn't hurt a fly."

The Cancer Saint grimaced. "You'd just overdose it with make-up."

Deathmask's insult was forgiven instantly when Aphrodite's eyes spied all the perfectly-made dishes that littered his modest kitchen. "So what is the feast for the evening?" he asked with a touch of excitement. He noticed what was being cooked and widened his eyes. "Fish?"

"Of course," replied Deathmask proudly. "What else for my favorite _pesci_? A seafood extravaganza. Sushi and clam appetizers; broiled, baked and stuffed fish for the main courses; seafood salad; I even made stuffed crabs."

"Ooh!" Aphrodite wrapped his arms around the other man's waist to hold him close and whisper in his ear, "But I was hoping we could have that for dessert."

Deathmask glared. "You're the pretty one. Why am I the bottom?"

The Pisces Saint smiled. "Just lucky I guess." He pulled away to dip his finger in the sauce that surrounded one of the many dishes and brought it to his lips. Tasty. "So when is everyone arriving?"

"Soon," said Deathmask as he flipped whatever he was cooking in the large skillet. "You'd better stop dawdling and start getting ready. We're not waiting for you to finish painting your face."

Eyes roamed each of the dishes, then noticed one dish was missing. The most important dish was nowhere to be seen. "Where's the cake?"

Deathmask chuckled. "I hid it."

"What? Why?"

"My desserts are a work of art," was the confident response. "I don't want anyone to see it until it's time."

Aphrodite clapped him on the shoulder. "Whatever you say. I'm going to get changed." He retreated into the bedroom section of his living quarters, promptly closing the door behind him.

An hour later, which was as fast as Aphrodite could get ready, he emerged from the bedroom clad in tight, black vinyl pants that hugged curves no man should have, and a wine colored shirt that flowed in waves to cling to his skin. His hair and make-up were perfect, and he scented himself with one of his own rosy perfumes. Upon meeting Deathmask's eye, the Cancer Saint smiled and extended his arms to embrace. They did, but Aphrodite pulled back with a disgusted face. "You smell like fish," he said.

"Shouldn't that be a good thing, all things considered?"

The Pisces Saint pushed him away. "No. I may be the Saint of Fish, but I always smell like roses."

Deathmask just shook his head with a smile.

"Where is everybody?" Aphrodite was excited to get the party started, and, he realized when his stomach growled, he was starving.

Deathmask scanned the room. "Don't know. They should have been here by now."

Aphrodite squinted his eyes and clenched his jaw. "You did give out the invitations, didn't you?"

Deathmask widened his own eyes and put on a placating smile. "Of course I did.' He put his hands up to ward off the Pisces approach. "I wouldn't mess up this day for you."

Aphrodite would not back down. He stepped forward until Deathmask was backed against the wall. If this day were ruined because of something stupid this man did, he would never be forgiven. "You put the invitations in their hands like I told you to?"

"Well. . ." Deathmask scratched the bridge of his nose as he averted his eyes.

"You didn't hand them their invitations personally?" By now Aphrodite was livid. He knew something could always go wrong, which was why he wanted the reassurance that they had invites in hand.

"Um, well. . ." Again Deathmask was fishing for words.

Aphrodite pushed Deathmask against the wall with an arm across his chest. "I told you to make sure each of them took the invite face-to-face. You knew this would happen!"

"Hey! I couldn't wait around all day for them to show up! I pushed each invite under their locked doors. There was no way they could not have gotten them." Deathmask was angry and on the defensive. His cheeks now red, he added, "They have to be here!"

Aphrodite watched with his arms folded across his chest as the Cancer Saint flew open the door and raced to the entrance of the Pisces temple. Taking slow steps took him twice as long to join Deathmask at the edge of the stairs that led down through Sanctuary. He waited impatiently for something to be said.

"There's nobody here," stated Deathmask with obvious confusion.

"I knew it!" The Pisces Saint took hold of Deathmask by the shirt. "This is all your fault!" He took a deep breath to control his rage. He did not want to do anything that he would later regret, like rearranging his dear friend's face. He closed his eyes and centered his Cosmos. Reopening them, he glared. "Go away," said with a voice cold as steel.

"What?"

"You ruined my party. You knew how much this meant to me and you still ruined it. Go away and don't come back."

"Wha? Dite, you can't be serious."

"I am dead serious. It's your fault that my party is ruined. I don't want to see your face." He turned his back so he would not see the hurt expression he knew his dear friend was wearing. He felt sad that none of the others were going to join the celebration, but he did not want to be pitied by the only one who would never abandon him. Time was all he needed to cool down, and he did not want to take out his anger on the one most precious to him.

"But you can't do this to me!" protested Deathmask loudly as he followed Aphrodite's retreat. "I've been slaving away in that kitchen since sunrise! I'm starving!"

Aphrodite halted his movements. "Since you are so well-versed in the art of cooking, I'm sure you can make something even more delicious in your own temple."

"What do you plan on doing with all the food I've already made?"

He turned to Deathmask and flashed a beautiful, shining smile. "What else? Eat it." Back to walking, he entered his quarters and slammed the door in Deathmask's face. Once inside, he waited for a pounding of the door or more shouts, but there was only silence. He felt a twinge of guilt at having kicked out not only his best friend, but the one who had indeed slaved away in the kitchen for hours, but kicked himself back into high gear and decided to enjoy his party without company. The living quarters of the Pisces temple still smelled divine, so he wasted no time walking to each dish and tasting each masterpiece. The multitude of flavors made him feel better, even if he wished to share it with the others.

"None of that, Aphrodite," he scolded himself out loud. "This is your day to shine." He grabbed a plate from the cabinet and began to compile his birthday meal.

Deathmask left the warmth of the Pisces temple to the bitter cold of Sanctuary's air, yet he could not feel the cold. Something had happened, something out of his control, and if he did not figure out where the rest of the Saints had gone to, he may never be forgiven. Not that he thought Aphrodite was shallow enough to stop talking to him over something like this, especially after all they've been through, but he hated the thought that those who said they were their friends could desert the Pisces Saint so easily on his most special day. Deathmask tried to make these birthday celebrations as wonderful as possible simply because they never had a chance to celebrate like they did, now that the world was at peace. And for something, or somebody, to interfere with that? Well, it made his blood boil. Never mind his own guilt at not having listened to his friend in the first place to hand out the invitations personally.

He could not believe the absence of Cosmos in Sanctuary. It seemed that everyone had left the temples, to go Athena-knows-where, instead of where they were supposed to go. He quickly descended the stairs toward the Aquarius temple, found nothing, past the Capricorn temple, again nothing, past the Sagittarius and Scorpio to no avail. But when he past through the Libra temple, he could sense the slightest tickling of Cosmos, there but not there, like a breath on the wind. With a scowl on his face, he ignored the rules of etiquette and kicked open the door to the living quarters, not at all surprised to see Shion seated at a couch with Dohko serving tea.

"Aha!" Deathmask cried out with a pointed finger.

"Deathmask?" they exclaimed in unison. Dohko faltered and almost spilled the tea onto Shion's lap.

"Why are you two in here masking your Cosmos like old hermits?"

Dohko and Shion exchanged a look, then both smiled in unison. It was eerie.

"Can we help you?" asked Shion with a pleasant manner.

"Yeah, you can help me. How come nobody's at Dite's birthday party?"

"That is today?" asked Dohko with surprise.

"Yes, that's today." Deathmask could feel the anger, the frustration, at having his plans so casually thrown away. There needed to be an outlet for his anger, and since none of the others were around, that outlet would jut have to be these two, two people he knew he should never cross, but was too enraged to think about consequences. Besides, he wanted a fight, to take his mind off of the guilt. "But you know what? Since you both seem so busy, you are uninvited."

He watched with satisfaction as they gave each other a wide-eyed look, then turned those wide eyes back to him.

"But we never received an invitation," said Shion calmly. "You cannot fault anyone but yourself for a lack of communication."

Through clenched teeth, Deathmask replied, "I slipped those invites under everyone's door. I can't believe that not a single person got one. But that's not the point. You all have calanders; you know what the date is. And you could have just asked me since you knew it was coming up. The truth is, all your talk of friendship was a bunch of bullshit. You don't really care about any of us at all, do you? Just say some pretty words to Athena to make yourself look good, but when push comes to shove, you'd rather show your contempt by ignoring us." At the moment, he just needed to vent. If he paused to listen to what he was saying, he would have realized how untrue all the words were.

"You should hold your tongue, Deathmask," said Dohko in low tones.

Shion placed a hand on Dohko's arm. "No, Dohko, it's okay." He smiled. "It's endearing. To think that he who is the most cruel would turn out to be the most kind."

"Eh?" Deathmask let confusion join the anger. "What the fuck are you blabbing about, old man?" Would he get his fight now?

Dohko looked ready to kill from the sheer lack of disrespect, but Shion's face never showed anything but acceptance, as did his hand never leave Dohko's arm. "I forgive you this once, Deathmask," said Shion softly, "but only because everything you do or say is borne from love. We deeply regret hurting Aphrodite in this manner, and we will do whatever we can to rectify the situation."

So no fight, eh? He should have known he would not get his ass kicked. Stupid Kyokou for being so perceptive. He huffed, then smirked. "You can apologize all you want to Dite for ruining his day. I'm through with you." He turned and walked out of the Libra temple, not willing or wanting to hear more bouts of wisdom from his superiors.

"He'll be fine," said Shion.

Dohko sighed. "Yes, I know. But now I feel horrible. How could we have forgotten Aphrodite?"

"We'll wait until the others return before joining them at the Pisces temple."

"Do you think they'll make it past the Fourth House?"

"I'm sure Deathmask will forgive them when they apologize to Aphrodite. My only concern is the missing invitations. I believe him when he says he passed them out, so what could have happened?"

They exchanged looks that spoke volumes of invites and missing invites and parties and anger and Gold Saints and friendship and finally they both widened their eyes with understanding. Shion dropped his chin to his chest. Dohko opened his mouth.

"Don't say it," ordered Shion.

"I was not going to." A pause. "Tea?"

Cosmos. Ten distinct Cosmos that traveled up the stairs of Sanctuary. Deathmask's lips curved to an evil grin; he had been waiting for them to show their faces. He had spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out what happened to those invitations, and could only come up with one solution. If nobody received them, that that only meant one thing. Somebody had taken them right after they were delivered. And he knew exactly who had the audacity to do such a thing.

Still, that did not give the others the right to abandon Aphrodite, so his anger was directed at all of them. Leaping from the couch where he had been seated to ponder how many horrible things he could do to them, he made his way to the entrance of the Cancer Temple and upped his Cosmos. At the bottom of the stairs, at the exit fo the Gemini Temple, stood all ten remaining Gold Saints.

"Don't think I'll let any of you pass me!" Deathmask called.

The stunned group stared. "What are you talking about, Deathmask?" asked Saga.

He descended a few steps to get closer so they could see his anger. "It's Aphrodite's birthday today."

"That's today?" questioned Mu.

"Hmph. And you call yourselves his friends." He walked down a few more stairs.

"Does that mean the party is today, too?" asked Shura.

"Yep, and because you decided to abandon him, you've hurt him very much. I'll bet he's in his Temple right now, crying his eyes out."

There were some gasps, which was the exact reaction he was hoping for. He thought that if they were stupid enough to believe that Aphrodite would cry over something like this, then they deserved any bad feelings that would come from such a statement.

"We're sorry," said Aldebaran. "We'll go up and appologize right away."

"Too late for that," said Deathmask with a cruel grin. "He hates you all. To be cast aside like trash by those he considers his friends is akin to spending an eternity in the Cocytus, and for some of you, you know exactly what I'm talking about." He watched with satisfaction as Mu, Aioria and Milo adopted sad, guilt-ridden looks. "I would not be surprised if you were never forgiven." More stairs were descended. "With friends like you, who needs enemies?" All of them looked guilty and sad. Good, they should be.

"How were we supposed to know the party was today?" asked Aioria.

"I sent out invitations."

"We never got an invitation."

After a few more steps he was with them, to see up-close how horrible he was making them feel. "I know. You can try to apologize to Dite and beg forgiveness if you want, and perhaps he will find it in his overly-kind heart to grant you such, but there is one among you who should be so ashamed that he should no longer show his face in Sanctuary." He moved in one fluid motion to stand before Milo and glare.

Milo's eyes widened in shock, then lowered in anger. "I should have known you'd put the blame on me."

"You stole the invitations," Deathmask accused. He stepped forward so they were touching chest-to-chest.

"I did not."

"You reached under everyone's door with that deadly nail of yours and swiped the invites." He smirked. "Did I hit the nail on the head?"

"Stop talking out of your ass."

"You're not going to confess are you?"

"There's nothing to confess to."

"How bout I **make** you confess."

"You got a death wish?"

Camus finally stepped between them and pushed Deathmask away. "That's enough," he said in his usual calm manner. "We should not waste any more time here arguing about whose fault it was. We are all equally as guilty. We should go up to the Pisces temple right away to voice our heartfelt apologies. I know how upset I'd be if the same thing were to happen to me."

The others mumbled their agreements, then all eyes were on Deathmask.

"Will you let us pass?" asked Camus.

Deathmask sighed. "Fine. But if he does not sincerely accept your apologies, I will never cook for any of you again."

A gasp was heard. "That would be horrible," said Shaka. "Then we'd be stuck with Mu's cooking."

Mu glared at his friend. "Shaka!"

The tension between them seemed to dissipate at that moment. There was still an air of guilt, but more smiles could be seen. One by one they ascended the stairs to the Cancer Temple, passing Deathmask on the way. He remained still until the only two left were Saga and Shura.

"He's not really crying his eyes out up there, is he?" asked Shura as he flanked Deathmask to one side.

"No. He's blissing on all the food I cooked."

"You're a good friend," said Saga as he flanked Deathmask on the other side.

"Not good enough since I didn't wait around to hand everyone their invites personally. I should have known this was going to happen." He hung his head

"You're not a psychic; you can't tell the future," said Shura with a smile.

They began walking up the stairs, but Deathmask remained where he was. There was still a pang of guilt inside him for messing up Aphrodite's party, and he knew that even if the Pisces Saint forgave everyone for missing the festivities, he would get yelled at again once they saw each other. The final words of Aphrodite's still rang in his head.

Saga and Shura stopped a few steps up when they realized Deathmask had not moved. Saga turned around. "You coming?"

Deathmask took a deep breath and resolved himself to take whatever Aphrodite decided to dish out. He could not be the one person to abandon his friend on this most special of days. With a smile that was more of a smirk, he answered. "Yeah. I'm coming."

As the last to arrive at the Pisces Temple, Deathmask caught the tail-end of the amazed gasps and comments due to his fantastic cooking skills.

"You've really outdone yourself this time, Deathmask," complimented Saga.

"But it looks like somebody beat us to the dishes," added Kanon.

"Dite," said Deathmask. "He could not wait for you chumps to decide to come and join him."

"I thought you said he was crying his eyes out," commented Aiolos smugly.

"Probably cried himself to sleep," answered Deathmask. "I'll get him. You bozos can start eating without us. If anything needs to be warmed up, Mu knows how to use an oven." He turned and walked back to the bedroom section of the living quarters.

As soon as he entered, the strong odor of sex assaulted him. He paused. Had there been a visitor while he was out? There must have been. Aphrodite was not one he knew to take pleasure in solitude, opting to enjoy the experience with a partner rather than with his lonesome hand. Who could have came for a visit? The list was quite long, so he stopped thinking about it and decided that he would know when the other wanted to tell him. He sat down on the bed beside the solitary sleeping figure and threw off the blanket. Underneath the comforter, Aphrodite was nude.

"Wake up, Dite," he cooed. "Your guests have arrived."

Aphrodite moaned and turned over from his side. Deathmask smiled in fondness for the other man, until his eyes widened upon seeing small, red mark upon Aphrodite's pale neck. They were not hickies, they were too small to be made by a mouth, and he recognized them instantly. One, two, three, four?

"Four?" he said out loud. "No wonder this room smells so strongly" A pause. "At least you didn't have to celebrate by yourself."

Aphrodite's eyes opened then, shining with sleep. He smiled. "Deathmask. Welcome back."

Everything that he was going to say flew out of his brain at that instant. Eyes stared at the beauty in the bed. Unable to come up with any course of discourse, he leaned down and kissed Aphrodite on the mouth. He was not rebuked.

Pulling back he came to his senses. "C'mon. Everyone's here. Go wash up and join us."

Aphrodite's face was the epitome of bliss. "Wash up? Why?"

"Because you smell like a whorehouse, and if they get a whiff of you, they won't be able to stop themselves."

The Pisces Saint snuggled into the pillows. "Mm. That sounds nice."

"You should not grant them such kindness."

"Jealous."

Deathmask grumbled. "Fine. Come out when you're ready."

Aphrodite's smile took up his entire face. "I love you."

That made him visibly relax into another smile. "That's just the drugs talking." He ran his finger along a lock of hair, then stood and went back to the kitchen. Every few moments he would pause to listen to the rambunctious discussions from the other room, then picture Aphrodite's blissful face, then chuckle. All the anger and frustration he had been feeling was gone. Now, all he cared about was making this party a spectacular success.

Everything felt wonderful. Nothing could go wrong. Everyone was wonderful, life was wonderful, he was wonderful, his friends were wonderful and this party was wonderful. Aphrodite slipped into a beige colored robe with giant sleeves, kept his feet bare, and exited the bedroom. Already he could hear the conversations from his friends, and felt an overwhelming surge of joy at just being part of this wonderful group.

"Welcome, everyone!" he said with excitement.

The conversations ceased as all heads turned to his direction. His smile only grew wider. "Don't stop on my account. I'm glad you could be here." Everyone looked beautiful, even more beautiful than his garden of roses. They were like little multi-colored flowers that popped up among the red, making an even more extravagant bouquet. He met the eyes of each one of them, then stepped further out into the dining room.

Aldebaran was the first to approach. "We just wanted to extend our most heart-felt apologies, Aphrodite," he said with eyes cast down. "Can you forgive us for abandoning you on your birthday?" Eyes filled with hope lifted.

That was the sweetest thing Aphrodite had ever heard. He put his hand on the Taurus Saint's large bicep. "Of course I forgive you. You are my friends. I love you all so very much." Aldebaran seemed to sparkle under his gaze. Standing on tip-toes, he grabbed the larger man's shirt with both hands and brought their lips together. Aldebaran made a surprised 'mmph' noise, but did not pull away. With a little insistence, Aphrodite got him to accept his tongue. The silent shock in the room made Aphrodite chuckle with delight.

Aldebaran was blushing from ear to ear. "Um," he began, unsure of what to say.

"Don't thank me. It's my birthday and I'll do whatever I want today."

"Um, okay."

"Don't worry," he announced to the room. "I'll get to everyone eventually."

That statement sent another wave of shock throughout the room, to which Aphrodite did not notice and added, "Now sit and eat."

They obeyed, taking places at the table to dish out heaping helpfuls of the delicious food that had been so perfectly prepared. Aphrodite sauntered up between Aldebaran and Mu, and touched Mu gently on the cheek. When Mu flinched, Aphrodite chuckled. He then wrapped his arms around Mu's neck from behind.

"I like this color on you," he said, referring to Mu's purple shirt.

"Th-thank you." Mu's cheeks were the color of tomatoes.

Aphrodite could feel the aroused excitement in the air, so much sexual tension and all directed at him. It made him giddy. He purred and ran his tongue along the curve of Mu's ear just to watch the man's reaction. For all his supposed purity, the Aries Saint sat panting and blushing and gripping the arms of the chair so tightly his knuckles turned white. Sliding around the chair, Aphrodite locked his eyes with the green ones, then dove in and captured Mu's lips. Mu opened his mouth instantly and their tongues twisted. When they parted, Aphrodite was smiling and Mu was panting. Into Mu's ear he whispered, "I've never eaten ram before." Mu's face turned every shade of red, and satisfied with that reaction, Aphrodite moved along.

Passing by Aldebaran who sat on Mu's right, he ran his hand lightly over the broad back and gave a quick kiss to the Taurus Saint's neck before moving up behind Shaka and wrapping his arms around the blonde's neck.

"If you kiss me I'll put a curse on you," said Shaka bluntly. There were some snickers of laughter, but that did nothing to deter Aphrodite from claiming his prize.

"Don't say such mean things," Aphrodite mock-pouted. "I'll leave you alone when it's your birthday." He gripped Shaka's cheeks with his left hand and turned his face to the side. He kissed him hard, watching with delight as Shaka's normally closed eyes flew wide open. When he pulled back, he watched as Shaka's face turned as red as Aldebaran's but not as red as Mu's. With a devious chuckle, he knew how to rectify that. Into his ear, Aphrodite muttered, "I know you are inappropriately named," which turned Shaka's cheeks from red to scarlet.

"Begone with you," said Shaka with a hint of tremble in his voice. Aphrodite just chuckled again, delighting in the uncomfortable willingness of his friends, and moved on.

Next sat Milo, who was never one to back down from a kiss. He smiled wide when Aphrodite approached, and did not protest one way or the other when their lips met. Aphrodite was surprised by the passion of the kiss, and let himself be taken away by that heat until it was Milo who backed away. "That was lovely," he breathed, wanting nothing more than to dive into Milo again. However, he knew he could do no such thing, not when there were so many others he needed to get to, and not when Camus stared at him with icy eyes.

"I'm happily married," said Camus before Aphrodite could touch him. That sent up more laughter from some of the others.

"Sure you are," said Shura from across the table.

"When your husband cheats," said Aphrodite, "you cheat right back." Before he could get a response from that, he forced his lips upon Camus, who was, so far, the most unwilling participant. But with gentle pressure and a much-insisting tongue, he finally got the Aquarius Saint to open up and accept. After that, the kiss was just as passionate as Milo's had been, which made Aphrodite's head spin. He also began to wonder if they had so much passion between them, who was the top and who was the bottom? That was a sandwich he would not mind being a part of.

Next was Shion, who sat at the head of the table. Shion smiled softly and held Aphrodite's gaze with serene eyes. "I suppose it's my turn now."

"That's right," answered Aphrodite, leaning over in front with his hands on the chair's armrests. "Now you weren't thinking about using your position to get out of it, were you?"

"Of course not. As Kyokou, I am duty-bound to give you whatever you'd like for your birthday." There was a twinkle in his eye that spoke volumes more than the words said.

Aphrodite swallowed but remained smiling, for he understood the implications perfectly. It brought sweet pictures to his mind of a very different Kyokou, first alone, then, for some reason, Mu came into the scene. Master and pupil never looked so good. The wild thoughts in his mind brought Dohko in as well, forming a threesome of the hottest proportions. His entire body flushed with heat, he never noticed Shion lean closer until their noses were touching. Aphrodite could not help but close the gap between their lips and kiss with everything he was worth.

When they parted, Shion licked his lips and said, "I'll have to catalog that for future reference." Aphrodite felt more heat wave through his body, and would have thrown Shion to the ground if not for the remaining half of the room that did not give him his gift.

Dohko chuckled when Aphrodite approached. "You young people sure have some strange ideas."

"I'm simply collecting my birthday gifts early. And I'm greedy; I want something from everyone."

"I'm not complaining," said Dohko with a smile.

Their kiss was languid, lazy, soft, like they had all the time in the world to roll their tongues around tasting every corner of each others' mouths. Aphrodite could have gone on all day without pause this type of kiss, and groaned with slight disappointment when Dohko pulled back. He opened his eyes and smiled seductive. "You're a very good kisser."

"I've had a lot of practice."

When he got up to Deathmask, the Cancer Saint leaned back and looked up at him with a great smile on his face. Aphrodite smiled back. "None for you," he said as he tapped Deathmask gently on the forehead.

Deathmask's smile immediately faltered as he lifted his head back up. "Whatever, tease."

"I am not a tease."

"Sure you are. You kiss everyone and get them excited, but do you even bother to get them off?"

"I leave that job to you."

"I'm sure they'd rather get it from you."

"Should we take a vote?" asked Shura.

"Do you really believe anyone is going to be truthful?" said Saga.

"No," responded Shura, "but it would be funny to put everyone on the spot like that."

"I don't think this room could become any more red, even without all the roses."

Aphrodite ran his hands through Shura's short hair and leaned forward. "Tell me happy birthday."

Shura turned his head and smiled. "Happy birth-mmph." Aphrodite took that moment to press their lips together and thrust his tongue without warning. For Shura's part, he was quite compliant, and Aphrodite was able to make a full plundering before pulling back and staring at his friend's beet red face. ". . .day," Shura finally breathed.

Aphrodite smiled bigger, ruffled the Capricorn's hair, then moved to his next two targets. He stepped between the chairs and stared at Saga and Kanon while leaning against the edge of the table. He licked his lips as a plan formed in his head of how to get underneath their skin, all the while enjoying the feel of their eyes raking across his own.

He adopted a confused expression. "I can't tell you apart," he said, knowing full well it was a lie.

They widened their eyes in unison, looked at each other then back at Aphrodite. "What do you mean you can't tell us apart?" asked Saga.

"I mean you two are identical, in every which way, and I can't tell which is which." He leaned forward to smell their necks slow and deliberate, first to Saga, then to Kanon. "You even smell the same," he said as he pulled away from Kanon.

"Aphrodite. How long have you known me that you can't tell me apart from my brother?" asked Saga.

"I don't know," replied Aphrodite using his most innocent tones. "I've known Saga for a while, but I don't know if you're Saga. You could easily be Kanon."

"We're not that identical," said Kanon.

"Well let's see." Aphrodite pushed off against the table and leaned into Saga. They kissed briefly, then he made his way to Kanon to mimic the same. Once finished with them both, he stared at their reddening faces and smiled. "You even kiss the same."

Their blush deepened and they looked at each other, as if sharing some secret that only twins could understand. Then they turned their eyes back to Aphrodite and grimaced identically. "It saddens me that you can't tell me apart from my brother," said Kanon with downcast eyes.

Aphrodite could not keep up the pretense any longer. He wanted them happy, not sad. "Stop that. I was only kidding. Of course I can tell you apart." At their surprised expressions, he chuckled. "Saga." He leaned towards Saga and kissed, a heavier kiss than the first time, complete with tongue and a touch of biting. When he pulled back, he admired the redness of lips before turning on the younger Gemini. "Kanon." And kissed him the same. By the time he was finished, both Gemini twins were smiling with flushed faces.

"You believed him," said Saga.

"I did not. I knew he was messing with us," retorted Kanon.

Aphrodite did not get a chance to make a move on Aiolos. Before he could take a step, the Sagittarius Saint stood from his chair, took Aphrodite in his arms, and kissed him hard. Aphrodite's head spun with excitement as he once again lost himself in a kiss, but this time he understood Aiolos to be the dominant one and quickly made himself as passive as he could. His mouth was ravaged, his lips bitten gently, turning him on more than when he kissed any of the others. When they finally parted, after so many long moments, Aiolos grinned down at him while Aphrodite could do nothing but stare and try to catch his breath. He wished to be taken into the bedroom right now and ravaged until he could no longer move. Such was not the case, however, and he felt a twinge of disappointment when Aiolos sat back down. Aphrodite could not help but keep staring, even as he circled behind and stepped to the final Saint, Aioria.

Clearing his head, Aphrodite closed the gap between himself and Aioria. "You aren't going to let your big brother out due you, are you, Aioria?"

"I'm not gay," stated Aioria flatly.

Aphrodite ran a finger down Aioria's cheek. "But you do want to kiss me, don't you?"

Aioria looked up, cheeks flushed so sweetly that Aphrodite felt his stomach flop. Without words, the Leo Saint nodded, and Aphrodite made good on his words. Their kiss was the most tentative of all, the most unsure, but definitely one of the sweeter ones. Once parted, Aphrodite whispered, "You're as sweet as a big ole pussy cat." He watched in delight as Aioria ducked his head to hide the intense blush.

He took a step back from the table to survey his work. All thirteen faces of his fellow Saints were bright red, all of them seemed to radiate with joy and friendship, there was no sadness, there was no pain. It was truly a sight to behold, and would be a birthday he would remember for the rest of his days.

"Thank you," he said. Tears formed in his eyes at the sheer joy at having his friends allow him to bestow a gesture to show how much he loved them. "I'm so happy you are my friends." He blinked away the tears so not to ruin the moment, but could not stop the butterflies that raced around his stomach. Life was perfect.

Aiolos and Shion exchanged a look, then raised their glasses of wine simultaneously. "To Aphrodite!" said Aiolos. "Thank you for sharing this day with us."

"And for single-handedly ruining all of our sexual fantasies for the rest of our lives," added Deathmask.

Aphrodite could not help but chuckle at that remark, even if he did not quite understand it. "How have I done that?"

Deathmask smirked. "After being so thoroughly kissed by you, do you really believe anybody will be able to have a normal relation without thinking of you?"

There were groans and chuckles together from the others. "Nice way to ruin a moment," muttered Milo.

"Nice face. Did you get it on sale?"

Milo glared across the table. Aphrodite could feel a fight brewing. "Do you even listen to the garbage that spews from your mouth?" asked Milo heatedly.

"Do you know everything you say spews from your ass?"

Milo's eyes narrowed and his lips curved cruelly. "At least my Cloth never rejected me."

Stunned silence. Even Aphrodite, who was still completely blissed, felt the slightest bit of hurt from that remark.

Camus' shocked face sputtered, "M-Milo."

Deathmask's eyes narrowed as he leaned forward against the table. His smirk was nothing short of evil as he said, "Can't think of anything more creative than dredging up old memories?"

Milo leaned forward as well. "Can't handle it because it's the truth?"

There was a static charge between the two that everyone could feel. Aphrodite began to move toward Milo to get in the way in case either of them decided to jump across the table and brawl. The air, that had been so jovial before, suddenly turned deadly. But, for some odd reason, that did not take away the bliss the Pisces Saint had been feeling all day. He wondered if he could stop them by kissing them again, then wondered what kind of sparks would fly if they were forced to kiss each other.

"That's enough," ordered Shion in his most authoritative yet calm voice, glaring at the fighting Saints. Both Deathmask and Milo grumbled, but leaned back in their chairs. Camus smacked Milo in the arm. When Deathmask snickered, Shura smacked him upside the head. "Let us not ruin this day with petty arguments."

"It's already been ruined enough," mumbled Deathmask. Shura smacked him again at Shion's glare.

Aphrodite chuckled. This was the most fun birthday he had ever had. And it was not even half-over, even if the sun was already on the horizon. He walked around the table by way of Shion so he could ruff Milo's hair, then sat down between Deathmask and Dohko. Under the table he pet Deathmask's hand and whispered, "Be good." Deathmask grumbled, but Aphrodite could tell there was no anger. Everyone began to dig in fully the feast laid out on the table, and for the rest of the meal, even if there were some ridiculous jibes, no more fights started.

When it seemed like everyone was finished with the main course, Deathmask and Shura left to retrieve the cake. Aphrodite could not hide his excitement at seeing what was said to be a masterpiece. Inside the Capricorn and Cancer Saint walked, carrying what looked to be a rectangular fish tank, complete with still-life fish and plants, resting on a circular pedestal surrounded by ruby-red roses in full bloom. Aphrodite was in shock, as were most of the others when the giant cake was laid out at the center of the table.

"I can feel my teeth falling out just looking at that thing," said Shaka.

Candles that were in the shape of roses were lit along one side of the rectangular cake. Shura pushed Aphrodite toward the beautifully decorated confection.

They sang happy birthday, Aphrodite made a wish, and happily blew out the candles. Plates were set up by Mu who had also gone to get the cake cutter from the kitchen. "Aphrodite," said Mu as he presented the cutter, "please do the honors."

He hesitated. "I don't even know where to begin."

"Just stab the damn thing," said Deathmask with a grin.

Aphrodite did not stab the cake, but sliced along one side of the fish tank, revealing white cake with frosting underneath, and little fishes. Everyone got a slice, then blissed out on the rich sugary taste. Except for Shaka and Camus, who were not as fond of sugar as the others.

Back in his seat, Aphrodite smiled at Deathmask, then shoved his cake in the Cancer Saint's face, just to see what kind of reaction he would get. He loved messing with his friend.

"I am not starting a food fight," said Deathmask as he licked the icing from his lips. "Neither should you."

"Why not." He used his pointer to grab icing and cake that was still on Deathmask's face, then licked it off deliberately seductive.

Deathmask opened and closed his mouth a few times before he spoke. "Um, because I'm not going to help you clean it?"

"Sure you will. You'll do whatever I say."

"Hey, I made the cake. That should be enough."

Aprhodite leaned in and licked some more icing off the corner of Deathmask's mouth. "I'll tell you when it's enough."

For his part, the Cancer Saint ignored that remark and ate his piece of cake.

It was dark outside. Everyone was full and happy and unmoving in their chairs. It had gotten quiet after the rush of sugar wore off, with everyone staring into space lost in their own thoughts.

"I could fall asleep right here," said Aioria.

"I second that," said Saga.

"Why don't we have a sleepover?" suggest Aphrodite with a bit too much energy.

"Oh, no you don't," said Deathmask. "No sleepovers. Not here. You want a sleepover, go to Camus'."

"But it's so cold there," complained Shaka.

Aphrodite yawned. He could feel the high beginning to wear off.

"Okay, that's it. I'm kicking you all out now," said Deathmask.

"You're such a killjoy," said Shura with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah. I have to put the birthday boy to bed. C'mon. I know you can't get that weakened from a mere meal."

There were groas, but eventually everyone stood. Aphrodite, with glazed eyes, gave everyone a light hug before they were ushered outside.

"Do you want us to help you clean up?" asked Aldebaran.

"No, that's okay," said Aphrodite. He motioned Aldebaran to give him an ear. "I'll have my slave do it for me."

Aldebaran smiled knowingly. "Okay. Have a good night."

"You too."

Finally, the last person was out of the Pisces Temple, leaving Aphrodite and Deathmask alone. Aphrodite promptly grabbed Deathmask's wrist and said, "Take me to bed!" while moving them into the bedroom. He heard Deathmask chuckle and knew what was going through the other man's mind. As soon as his head hit the pillow however, Aphrodite fell into a deep, inky slumber.

"I made a complete fool of myself, didn't I?"

The morning sun was up; Aphrodite was still in bed. Deathmask sat at the edge facing him with a goofy grin on his face.

"Yeah. You were totally nuts. I told you to wash before going out there, but did you listen to me? Nooo."

"At least everyone had a good time, right?"

"A good time. Hmm. I think a good time would have included getting naked and using the cake as lube."

Aphrodite playfully hit Deathmask in the arm.

"So did you get any presents? Tangible gifts, I mean."

"Yes. Just one." Aphrodite smiled softly.

"Can I see it?"

"It's in that box over there." He pointed to a box that was sitting discarded on the floor at the far end of the bedroom.

Deathmask made to get up, but he was pulled back down by a strong hand on his wrist.

"Kiss me first." Aphrodite closed his eyes.

Deathmask smirked, hmphed, and closed the distance between them, smelled nothing but roses, tasted nothing but fish.

owari

This story has a "missing scene" and a sequel, neither of which I can post here. But they exist, or they will exist, if this story gets the feedback I am hoping for.


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